By all rights, I should not be telling you how to make gumbo. After all, I wasn’t born and raised in New Orleans nor in any of the communities between […]
Visual Stories
DESIGN
Chad Jacobs Feels the Light
The founder of Bone Simple Design weaves together lighting and fiber arts
Chad Jacobs can’t stand bare lightbulbs. Although they might be trendy in restaurants and coffee shops as a play on an industrial look, he just doesn’t get them. “You’re constantly […]
MILLION-YEAR PICNIC
When the Moon Eclipses the Sun
Totality will miss the Cape on April 8, but we’ll still get 90 percent of its magic
The solar eclipse on April 8 is America’s headline astronomical event of 2024, but Cape Cod isn’t in the path of totality. That means we won’t experience the otherworldly twilight […]
A WALK ON THE WILD SIDE
The Call of the Catkins
How pussy willows and hazelnuts beckon trysts in the breeze
A walk along the Head of the Meadow bike trail in the first days of spring can be a master class in cold-weather copulation — of the horticultural kind. In […]
WARRIORS WATCH
Girls Lacrosse, Boys and Girls Tennis Start 2-0
A weekly wrap-up of Nauset Regional High School sports
EASTHAM — Last week’s sports schedule was disrupted by wet weather, but that didn’t stop Nauset High’s teams from getting their seasons underway. Girls lacrosse started the year 2-0 for […]
ITCHIN’ FOR IT
Pick Your Poison
Poison ivy, whose wood can trigger an allergic rash on contact just like its foliage can, might actually be easier to identify in the off-season when its “leaves of three” […]
RARA AVIS
This Week’s Bird Sightings
Confirmed bird sightings on the Outer Cape in the week preceding the Independent’s deadline on Tuesday, April 2 included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet […]
ASTRAL PROJECTIONS
When Dreams Eclipse Reality
Stay cool as our unconscious minds urge us to spring
A lot of planets are stationed in Pisces, which is affecting our dreams and unconscious minds. And just as Venus moves out of Pisces this week, the solar eclipse will […]
OBJECT LESSONS
Mind the Raincatcher
Beneath a door at the Wellfleet Historical Society and Museum, an ingenious sill kept wind-driven water at bay
Curious objects that tell stories of the past fill the displays at the Wellfleet Historical Society and Museum. More are stacked in boxes in the basement awaiting the completion of […]
THE ESSENTIALS
Biscuits for a Charmed Brunch
Buttery and slightly crisp, the way Mary McCarthy might have liked them
The legendary bohemian community that flourished on the Outer Cape in the early to mid-20th century is known for its enormous contributions to the arts, literature, culture, politics, and social […]
ORCHIDELIRIUM
The Patient Practice of Growing Orchids
Christine and Alan Hight will wait for their epiphytes to bloom
There is one orchid in Christine and Alan Hight’s house in Wellfleet, a Cattleya or corsage orchid, that took 10 years to bloom. Each year, it would “spike” — a […]
THE SCUTTLEBUTT
Whales Are in the Bay, and Stripers Are on the Way
New rules to further reduce striper catch will soon be set
Spring is in the air on the Outer Cape. If you don’t believe me, just ask the whales and the stripers. The right whales are in Cape Cod Bay now, […]
MORNING FLIGHT
An Ocean-Going Goose Departs Cape Cod Bay
For humans, it’s hard to fathom what birds like the brant do when they’re away
Once upon a time, a barnacle was a kind of bird. Each winter in medieval England, people who lived on the shore watched as their usual waterfowl — the barnyard-looking […]
WARRIORS WATCH
Nauset Spring Sports Get Underway
A weekly wrap-up of Nauset Regional High School sports
EASTHAM — Eleven teams in eight varsity sports warm up this week for the Nauset Regional spring sports season. Baseball starts with a new coach for the second time in […]
WHEN HONEYSUCKLES SUCK
On the Morrow, an Invasion
The deciduous flora of the Cape has just barely begun to awaken and flower — most native trees and shrubs are still hitting snooze — and leaves aren’t on the […]
